Articles and columns – 2004
The 'A week in Politics' columns originally appeared in the Stevenage Herald, and are listed in reverse order – most recent first.
Comfort and joy
21 December 2004
The last Monday before Christmas found the House of Commons debating Identity Cards. As this subject always generates a great deal of heat and light it seemed a singularly appropriate one for the second shortest day of the year. But I do not think that the new Home Secretary, Charles Clarke, will remember the day as short...
Christmas countdown
14 December 2004
There is an urgency to this time of year that I like. Everyone wants to get things tidied up and sorted out before Christmas. Westminster is no different. Except that its deadline is forty-eight hours earlier...
It must be Christmas
7 December 2004
It is December and Westminster is officially in festive mode. A giant Christmas tree glitters in New Palace Yard, the tearoom is covered in holly and the queues in the gift shops get longer each day. Now, at last, all that gunpowder mustard and Speaker’s whisky will be sold as MPs play Santa to their staff and volunteers. The Chancellor is in a pretty giving mood too...
November 2004
Safety first
30 November 2004
Over 3,500 people were killed on Britain’s roads last year. One hundred and seventy one of these were children. The government wants reduce these numbers. It also wants to reduce the number of people seriously injured in road accidents each year. That is why the Road Safety Bill got its Second Reading in the Commons this week.
Cards, coronets and criminal behaviour
23rd November 2004
This week the Queen delivered her 'Gracious Speech' to Parliament. This year it was packed with Bills. Thirty-seven of them. Half of those will not make it to the statute books. Possibly not even a quarter. There is a General Election to be fought and the smart money is on May 5th. So this Queen’s Speech is more of manifesto than a programme of legislation...
Blessed are the peacemakers
6th November 2004
This year I attended three Remembrance Day ceremonies. One in the Town Centre, one at the Bowling Green and one in Old Knebworth. Each was, in its own way, moving and memorable. And it is at that point, each year, that my thoughts turn to present conflicts.
Bill bouncing
9th November 2004
Odd is a good way of describing the most average week in Westminster. But those at the end of a Parliamentary session are particularly so. Suddenly Bills that had been wending their way peacefully through committee have to be speeded up. Then they have to go to the Lords. Then back to the Commons.
Crocuses and pink ribbons
2 November 2004
On the last day of October I took the pink, Breast Cancer, ribbon off my lapel and replaced it with a poppy. It is heartening how quickly people have come to accept that October is Breast Cancer month. Just like November is Royal British Legion month...
October 2004
Democracy in action
26 October 2004
Last week's furore over MP’s expenses was expected and unpleasant. It was also silly and unjust. For the record, I use all of my MP's salary to employ extra caseworkers in my constituency and parliamentary offices so I can give the people of Stevenage a really first class service.
Party time
12th October 2004
Traditionally, politics goes to the seaside in late September. So, usually, do I. But this year was different. Thanks to Hertfordshire County Council’s review of Primary School provision I only got a brief whiff of Brighton’s bracing air. Then it was back to real politics in Stevenage. Perhaps 'real' is not quite the word to describe the Education Panel meeting on Tuesday 28th. September. Surreal is more like it...
September 2004
Aiming high
Tuesday 14 September 2004
The County Council’s review of Primary School provision in Stevenage continues to raise eyebrows, and blood pressure in the town. Parents attending a meeting at Burydale School this Monday were shocked to hear that the Executive Member for Education, Robert Gordon, was apparently determined to push the changes through.
Reality check
Thursday, 9 September 2004
The lazy and blissfully unscheduled days of summer are finally over. But people still have that slightly jet-lagged, post-holiday, air. Part of them seems to be hankering for the freedom of August whilst another is struggling to adjust to the exigencies of September, including treating Tuesday as a Monday…
August 2004
Weighing it all up
Wednesday, 4 August 2004
Last week was a bad one for the Prime Minister. But it was not fatal. Monday’s Spending Review contained more good news than bad. Wednesday’s Butler Report found the government’s claims about Iraq’s Weapon’s of Mass Destruction sincere, though over-stated. Thursday’s by-election contest was a draw. But it was almost fatal …
July 2004
Counting down
Wednesday,
12 July 2004
Gordon Brown’s Spending Review kicked off yet another difficult week in politics. I am beginning to lose count of how many of these we have had since the last general election. But the Chancellor's news was good news ...
Getting it wrong
Wednesday, 7 July 2004
Love them or hate them, schools play a pivotal part in our lives. Especially those we go to when we are very young. That is why Hertfordshire County Council’s proposal to close at least five of Stevenage’s primary schools is so unpopular.
June 2004
Choosing choice?
Wednesday, 30 June 2004
Choice is the new buzzword at Westminster. Some politicians seem to think that it is the key to victory in the next general election. I am not so sure. Choice is a good thing in theory but, in practice, it can be problematic ...
Reality check
Tuesday, 22 June 2004
Westminster is slowly returning to normal after the elections. Or what passes for normal in that hothouse. But the tearoom talk is no longer just of results past, present or future. The real world, with all its problems, is back in focus.
Winning women's votes
Wednesday, 9 June 2004
Women are not a minority in Britain or Stevenage. But, as recent reports produced by the Electoral Commission and the Fawcett Society vividly illustrate this fact continues to elude our main political parties. Sidelined, ignored and discounted for 11 months of the year, women only become important to politicians in the run up to an election. Then, courting the votes of 52% of the population becomes urgent again. This, to put it mildly, infuriates me…
May 2004
Purple powder
Wednesday, 26 May 2004
Corn flour is not poisonous. But when it has been mixed with purple dye, poured into condoms and then lobbed at the Prime Minister in the middle of his weekly joust with the Leader of the Opposition, you could be forgiven for wondering...
A-tishoo
Wednesday, 19 May 2004
Every spring two things happen. Hayfever and local elections. The first demands that I spend as little time as possible in the pollen-laden open air. The latter demands exactly the opposite. So, do not be surprised if you find me sneezing on your doorstep one day soon.
Winning women's votes
May 2004
Women are not a minority in Britain. They are the majority. But the fact that this continues to elude our main political parties is vividly illustrated by recent reports from the Electoral Commission and the Fawcett Society. Sidelined, ignored and discounted for four years out of every five, women only become important to politicians in the run up to a general election. Then, courting the votes of 52% of the population becomes urgent again. This, to put it mildly, infuriates me…
Hard times
Tuesday 11th May 2004
The local elections may be a month later this year but the campaigning, and the backbiting, has got off to an unusually bitter start. The appalling events in Iraq and President Bush’s crass endorsement of the Israeli Prime Minister’s plan to only withdraw from selected settlements on the West Bank, have raised the temperature and shortened tempers at Westminster...
April 2004
Ups and downs
Wednesday, 28 April 2004
Falling flat on your face on a marble staircase is not something I would recommend to anyone. Least of all to women of mature years like myself. But, that is exactly what I did on Friday afternoon. Right in front of the Mayor and about a hundred guests at GlaxoSmithKline’s Film Awards. I burst my lip, cracked my wrist and spattered the Mayor with blood. But worst of all, I lost my dignity.
Protective measures
Wednesday, 21 April 2004
We had the builders in at Westminster over Easter. They put up a huge glass screen to divide the Stranger’s Gallery from the rest of the Common’s chamber. Its purpose is to prevent members of the public from throwing things and screaming abuse at Members of Parliament. It's a pity this has become necessary. We ought to be bringing down the barriers between Parliament and the people. Not putting up more.
Wrongs and rights
Tuesday, 06 April 2004
I was wrong about Beverly Hughes.It turns out that she was incompetent. Not very, but just enough to make a honourable person feel that resignation was the only option. In her defence, her portfolio was simply too large. And one part of her job was immigration. It is time to get a grip on the number of immigrants entering our country, but in doing so we must not forget the role that they play in our economy and public services...
March 2004
Miracle Growth
Tuesday, 23 March 2004
Last week the Chancellor delivered his eighth Budget Statement to a packed House of Commons. It was probably his most successful, and most comprehensible, one yet. Growth is miraculously on course at 2.3%. Next year’s forecast 3-3.5%. Unemployment is another minor miracle, with the claimant count down to 2.9% - its lowest since 1993. And there is yet more good news ...
A political week
Monday, 15 March 2004
Events, those great enemies of politicians, often seem to occur in the third week in March. Let us hope that this year it proves to more peaceful. However, there is plenty going on., including the Big Conversation on public health, the budget, and the anniversary of the Iraq war ...
Cold comfort
17 February 2004
Misery, they say, loves company. In the Northern Hemisphere it also loves February. This is definitely the month for being blue. Either from cold or from the host of other causes which spring so readily to mind at this time of year. But there are bright points right here in Stevenage ...
Inquiring minds
February 4 2004
My mother used to infuriate me by answering my most persistent questions with a knowing smile and a few choice words about curiosity killing the cat. I think that is how most people feel about the responses they get from politicians. Concealing more than you reveal is an art form at Westminster. Perhaps that is why independent inquiries have become so popular over the past twenty years.
January 2004
Learning lessons
January 27 2004
They say that it is calmest at the centre of a storm. It certainly does not feel like that at Westminster this week. Outside the headlines scream; the placards wave; the protestors chant and the cameras flash. It's the Hutton enquiry and the Higher Education Bill ...
Funding the future
January 20th 2004
Britain’s universities and colleges are desperately under-funded. They have been for decades. That is why the Government is putting an extra £3 billion from general taxation into Higher Education over the next three years. What do you think of these proposals? Make your views known by completing a
quick on-line survey.
Finding resolution
13 January 2004
I used to wonder why the ancient Chinese phrase “May you live in interesting times” was considered to be a curse. To me, it seemed more like a blessing. Now, at the beginning of what promises to be an extremely interesting year, I am not so sure. A bit of boredom is definitely preferable to the threat of terrorism, the impending Hutton report, the tuition fees debate and two elections on the same day in June...
Also see ...
>> Current columns
>> Columns for 2005
>> Columns for 2004
>> Columns for 2003
>> Columns for 2002
>> Columns for 2001
>> Columns for 2000
>> Columns for 1999
